The Rural Sociological Society (RSS), a professional association for rural sociologists in the United States, was officially established on December 29, 1937. Before then, those interested in the discipline met as the Rural Sociology Section of the American Sociological Society, which later became the American Sociological Association. The meeting at which the formation of the RSS was approved had not started with that in mind. Rather, a committee of section members appointed previously presented a report that supported continued association with the parent organization, although one of the five members submitted a minority report calling for separation. After substantial discussion, a vote to establish a separate organization carried. That same day, a provisional constitution and by-laws